


we'll figure it out together

by daisylincs



Series: Agents of Birthdays [5]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Agents of Birthdays, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Pregnancy, Baby Names, Daisy Johnson Gets To Be Happy, F/M, Family, Feels, Fluff, Gift Fic, Happy Birthday Val!!, So. Much. Fluff, Staticquake Forever, and everyone is SO damn happy about it, because they both deserve it, birthday fic, but they do it, picking baby names is hard, pregnancy & babies, together, with Lincoln
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:42:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26586055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisylincs/pseuds/daisylincs
Summary: Picking baby names is hard, but Daisy and Lincoln are determined to choose the perfect one - with some help from the SHIELD family.
Relationships: Lincoln Campbell/Skye | Daisy Johnson, Skye | Daisy Johnson & Agents of SHIELD Team
Series: Agents of Birthdays [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1886911
Comments: 16
Kudos: 36





	we'll figure it out together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [smolshy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolshy/gifts).



> Dear @angrylittleintrovert, 
> 
> Since it’s your special day today, I’m going to take a little trip down memory lane: because _you,_ my friend, were one of the very first people who made me feel truly welcome in Tumblr’s writing community. I mean, yes, the people on AO3 and the ficnet were _incredible,_ and I still want to write a whole long letter thanking them all one day - but it’s something quite different to ask for _prompts_ on Tumblr, let alone to actually _get_ them.
> 
> To be honest, I never thought anyone would be remotely interested. But then I woke up one morning to find no less than _five_ asks in my inbox, all prompts from you - and let me tell you right now, I don’t think I’ve ever felt giddier or more incredulously happy. Because yes, I’ve had a lot of prompts in the days since then, but you were the very first person to send me enough that I truly felt appreciated and welcomed: and to date, I don’t think there’s anything that can really beat that feeling.
> 
> And since then, we’ve formed the kind of friendship where I know that if I see anything with your URL attached to it, I’ll like it. Because here’s the most important thing of all: we share our OTP!! 
> 
> Really, there’s nothing more amazing than the feeling of knowing someone shares your love for that one fictional couple - the feeling of knowing that if I write anything for them, it is _going_ to be seen and appreciated.
> 
> I really, really wanted to thank you for that: because if it hadn’t been for your support and welcome prompts-wise, I probably wouldn’t have found the courage to post all these fics to AO3, because I quite simply wouldn’t have felt… I don’t know, _good_ enough, _accepted_ enough, to share them.
> 
> Because the thing is, though I’ve gotten fairly good at hiding it, I really am a Mess™, and I was just _soooo_ nervous to enter this fandom full of insanely talented people. But you were there, making me feel like I really was _valid,_ like there was someone who cared enough about what I was doing to send me all these prompts - and above everything else, that’s really the thing that gave me the boost to be able to share my works with comfort and pride.
> 
> So this fic is to thank you for that support and welcome - and it’s long, and it’s incredibly fluffy, because honestly, this is the thank-you of the year. We may not know each other _that_ well yet, but I actually owe you so much if I look at how far I’ve come - because anon or no, you were there right at my tentative beginning, when I needed the encouragement most. 
> 
> So, yup, I’m sending you the _biggest_ birthday hugs and cheers right now, along with sincere wishes that you enjoy this piece of absolute fluff and happiness. Here’s to hoping you had the absolute _best_ day - and from the bottom of my heart, long live team Anxious Messes feat. Staticquake Forever!!

There were many things in Daisy Johnson's life that had gone exactly according to plan. Getting kidnapped by SHIELD, for example - it had always been her plan to let them get to her so she could situate herself right smack bang in the middle of their top-secret base. 

But there were just as many things that _hadn't_ been planned; that had snuck up on her completely from the blue. Finding a team and family in SHIELD, for example. Getting her Inhuman powers. 

Becoming pregnant with twins. 

Yeah, that _definitely_ hadn't been part of any plan. 

Daisy rubbed a hand over her belly, closing her eyes and concentrating on the tiny vibrations stirring inside of her. If she really focused, she could sense the little flutters of their heartbeats - her son, and her daughter. 

In no plan for her life had she ever foreseen something like this for herself - in the orphanage, all she had wanted was to get adopted and find a home; as a hacktivist in her van, all she had wanted was to track down her real parents; and lastly as an agent of SHIELD and an Inhuman, all she had wanted was to use her powers to help people. A baby had never figured into any of it, least of all _two_ babies. 

And yet… As she listened to the little heartbeats thrumming under her palm, a smile tugged at her lips, weary but happy, more happy than she had ever smiled at anything before, and so _soft_ that she thought her heart might explode of it. 

These two tiny lives inside of her - she didn't know them yet, but she would already do _anything_ for them. Tear down any wall for them, destroy any opponent for them - anything and everything to keep them safe, and happy. 

She had always heard stories about the strength of a mother's love, and she had always yearned for it on cold, lonely nights in the orphanage. 

As she grew older and more cynical, though, she had started to doubt that it was even real. 

But today, she knew without a shred of doubt that all the stories were true. She _felt_ it. And she had never felt anything like it - a bloom of compassion and love so deep that it reached into her very soul, coupled with a ferocity so intense that it was like a lightning bolt through her heart. 

There was _nothing_ she wouldn't do for these two tiny lives inside her; she knew that with a kind of lightning-fierce clarity deep inside her bones. If anyone tried to harm so much as a _hair_ on their heads… 

Well, best not to consider it, really. 

She shifted a little in her chair, opening her eyes and taking a moment to catch her breath. She still wasn't used to the _intensity_ of these emotions - and she hadn't even _met_ her children yet, let alone named them. 

Ah. Crap. _Names._

That reminded her - she was supposed to meet everyone down in the lounge in less than fifteen minutes to have a final meeting about baby names - because to quote Jemma, "you are seven and a half months pregnant, Daisy, and _neither_ of your children have names yet." 

Cursing under her breath, Daisy hauled herself to her feet, wincing as one of the twins chose _just_ that moment to shift position. 

Resting a hand against her ribs, she sent a tiny, soothing pulse of vibrations rippling through her body, smiling to herself when the baby's kicks stopped immediately. 

She had initially been very hesitant about using her powers anywhere near her stomach, but Lincoln and Jemma had assured her that it wouldn't harm the twins in any way - in fact, since babies heard everything in the form of vibrations, it might even be _helpful_ for their development. 

She had been very cautious at first, but when every test had shown that there was genuinely no harm being done, she had started to do it a little more. 

And the thing was, the twins responded _incredibly_ well to it - in fact, sometimes the only thing that would calm them down was a gentle ripple of vibrations right against her stomach. 

They would stop kicking immediately and melt into it, as though the low, soothing frequency was acting like a kind of lullaby to them. 

It soothed Daisy, too - the effect of the vibrations on her own body was like a gentle massage. Furthermore, it also let her feel her babies's heartbeats a little more intently, something which never failed to bring a smile to her face. 

Keeping one hand lightly on her stomach, Daisy navigated her way through the Playground to the lounge area, listening to her children moving with one ear all the while. 

One twin - she _thought_ it was her boy; he was fractionally lighter than his sister, and shyer - had curled himself closer to the left side of her stomach, his little knees pressing gently against her skin. He seemed to be asleep. 

His sister, on the other hand, was moving around a bit more - nudging the sides of Daisy's stomach every now and then as she tried to find a comfortable position. 

"Shh, little one," Daisy whispered to her, moving her hand till it was resting right about where she thought her daughter was lying. "Shh, shh." 

Her daughter squirmed around a little more, and Daisy bit back a chuckle. _Independent._

 _Wonder where she gets that from,_ she thought dryly. 

Snickering to herself at the thought, she pushed open the door of the lounge and walked in. 

Lincoln greeted her with a soft kiss on the top of her head, tucking a curl of hair tenderly behind her ear. "Everything okay with my three favourite people?" 

"Mmm," Daisy agreed, rising up on her toes to kiss him lightly on the cheek. "We're good." 

He wrapped an arm gently around her waist, helping her ease herself back into a comfortable standing position as he smiled warmly down at her, his gaze soft. "I'm glad to hear it." 

"When you two are done being disgustingly cute," Fitz called from his position sprawled on one of the couches on the opposite side of the room, "we have two babies to name." 

"Oh, you're one to talk, Mr I'm-So-In-Love-With-Jemma-Simmons-That-I-Turn-To-Mush-Every-Time-She-Looks-At-Me," Daisy retorted, but she was grinning as she settled herself on one of the couches, looking expectantly around the room. 

There was Fitz, with Jemma perched on the arm of his couch, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend and best friend's sibling banter; and on the next couch over, Bobbi and Hunter, the latter with his feet sprawled across the former's lap, who was failing spectacularly at looking annoyed about it; then Mack and Elena, with Joey on an armchair next to them, all three of them snickering at some joke Elena had just told in Spanish; and lastly Coulson and May, standing just close enough that their shoulders were brushing, but just far enough apart that Daisy wanted to prod them closer together. 

She had expected to see them all, true, but she still hadn't been prepared for the rush of warmth that flooded through her body at the sight of them all gathered here together - her family. The people who meant the most to her in the world. 

She could feel her eyes growing moist, and reached up to swipe away a tear, scowling at herself. _Stupid pregnancy hormones._

Coulson cleared his throat, and Daisy turned her attention to him, relieved at the distraction. 

"So, as you all know," he said solemnly, "we are gathered here today for a very important mission." 

A round of nods passed through the assembled agents, all of whom were trying desperately to look serious. 

Coulson kept a straight face for a second longer, then broke into a wide grin, pulling out a basket of confetti. "Baby names!" he exclaimed, flinging the confetti out over the room at large. 

Hunter whooped, Mack wolf-whistled, Jemma applauded, and May rolled her eyes affectionately - and Daisy found herself grinning, beaming like she might never stop as pink and blue confetti floated down around her. 

"You _guys,"_ she protested, pressing her hand against her heart and feeling like she might actually melt. 

Coulson smiled innocently across at her. "What?" 

"Quit spoiling me," she grumbled, but there was no heat behind it, especially not considering how much she was still grinning. 

Lincoln reached for her hand, flipping it over and tangling his fingers with hers. "Come on, Daisy," he said, nudging her shoulder with his. "You deserve to be spoiled for every second of every day." 

"I'm not the first woman who's had twins," she protested to the room at large, trying and failing miserably to look stern. 

"Maybe, but you're the first Inhuman," he reminded her. He nudged her shoulder again, and she tilted her head to look at him, finding that he was smiling down at her with the most incredibly soft, affectionate expression. "You're also the first Daisy Johnson, and that," he squeezed her hand, "makes you _so_ special." 

Okay, she had officially melted into a puddle of goo. Her best attempt at scowling disappeared completely behind a massive smile as she looked around the room, her chest expanding with warmth. 

All these people. All this _love!_

"Okay, okay," she said, except she was still smiling too much for there to be any heat behind it. "Let's get this show on the road, yeah?" 

Jemma beamed at her from across the room. "Are you ready?" 

"Are _you?"_ Daisy challenged playfully. 

Jemma's grin widened as though she had been waiting for Daisy to say that - which, she realised belatedly, she probably had. 

"I'm more than ready," Jemma said, flipping over a SHIELD tablet and showing Daisy what seemed to be no less than fifty tabs open on the browser. "I've spent the whole of last week compiling lists of the most popular baby names right across the world, complete with their meanings." 

Daisy rolled her eyes affectionately. "Of course you did." 

"Meanings are _important,_ Daisy," Jemma said, her eyes widening earnestly. "You don't want to accidentally call your kids Ugly and Stupid in some other language, do you?" 

Daisy had to give her that one. "We most certainly do not," she said emphatically. Beside her, Lincoln nodded dramatically in agreement. 

"Alright, so the first list I've got is the 100 most popular names in the US," Jemma said, tapping to open the first tab and glancing quickly up at Daisy as though she was making sure this was okay. 

But Daisy had Lincoln's fingers tangled through hers, and her whole family surrounding her, so she was pretty sure _anything_ was okay. Smiling, she twirled her free hand at Jemma in a non-verbal _go ahead._

"Alright! So the number one most popular girl's name is…" Jemma paused for dramatic effect, and Daisy waved her hand again impatiently, "... Olivia!" 

"Closely followed by Emma, Ava, Sophia, and Isabella," Jemma listed. 

"I wouldn't have thought _Olivia's_ the most popular," Daisy mused, tilting her head to one side. Huh… did she know any Olivias? She didn't think so. 

"But Olivia's off," Lincoln said from beside her, and Daisy turned to him, her eyebrows raising. 

Meeting her gaze squarely, eyes warm, he shrugged his shoulders. "It's a nice name, and I don't have anything against it," he said. "But if it's the most common name, I'm not sure if I want our daughter to be called that. She's special." 

Coulson caught his eye, nodding approvingly, and Daisy bit back the urge to roll her eyes. When he had first learned about her pregnancy, Coulson had been about ready to _murder_ Lincoln - but he seemed to have gotten over that now, and was fully settled into Proud Granddad mode. 

Not that Daisy'd ever say that to his _face,_ but hey, it was what it was! 

And, apparently, Proud Granddad agreed that these babies were a cut above the average. 

Daisy couldn't blame either of them, really. She was biased, of course, but her twins really _were_ the most special pair in the world. 

One of the babies kicked her right beneath her ribs, and she let out a surprised chuckle, resting her hand against the spot. 

"Well, _she_ seems to agree with you," she told her boys with a wry smile, rubbing her hand gently over the spot. 

"Is she kicking you?" Jemma asked, leaning forward with interest. 

Daisy kept her hand on the spot, nodding slowly as she tuned into the baby's little bundle of vibrations again. 

"I _think_ it's the girl," she said, closing her eyes so she could concentrate a little more finely. "She's the slightly heavier one, right?"

Both Lincoln and Jemma, her impromptu doctors, nodded. "By about fifty grams," Lincoln said proudly. 

Daisy poked him in the ribs without even opening her eyes. "You're not allowed to play favourites, Dad," she said in mock offense, squinting up at him. 

"I'm not!" he protested, holding up his hands innocently. "Besides, you're sweet on the boy." 

"Nonsense," Daisy said roundly, shifting her hand over to the middle of her stomach. "I love them both equally." 

"So do I, really," he said, lifting up their joined hands to rest gently on the curve of her stomach and looking down. 

"We all do," Coulson added, watching the two of them with a surprisingly soft, affectionate look. 

Daisy melted all over again as her entire family chimed in, some with affectionate nods (Bobbi, May, Jemma) some with eye-rolls that meant they agreed completely (Fitz, Hunter) and some with just smiles (Mack, Joey.) 

And last but not least, in true practical Elena style - "That's all well and good, but they still need _names."_

A round of chuckles rippled through the room, and Daisy smirked, too. "Good point, Yoyo," she said teasingly. "We're all being turtle-men about this." 

"Stupidos," Elena agreed, but her eyes were fond. "Hurry it up." 

"Sí," Lincoln said, throwing her a playful salute. Shifting to face Jemma, he asked, "Do you have a list of less common names, Jem?" 

"How do you know me?" Jemma retorted with a playful roll of her eyes, swiping over to another tab on her tablet. 

"Alright, so here we have a list of unusual baby names, grouped by how pretty they sound," she said, tilting the screen down a little so she could look around the room. "How's that sound?" 

Daisy and Lincoln turned to each other at the same time - she raised her eyebrows, and he shrugged. 

"Sounds good," Daisy said, turning back to Jemma and her list. 

"Let's start with the boy names this time, shall we?" she mused, swiping over to the next page of her article. "Alright, so first up, we have Xavier, which means 'bright.'" 

"That's a nice meaning," Bobbi said, nodding. "And it's a fairly nice name, too." 

"Yeah, but remember, we're working with a double-barrel surname here," Hunter reminded her, lifting up his fingers to emphasize his point. "Whatever name we end up picking has to work with _Johnson-Campbell,_ and Xavier…" 

"No, you're right, it doesn't work," Bobbi said, wrinkling her nose. "Xavier Johnson-Campbell. No." 

Daisy had to agree. That _really_ didn't work. No offense to people named Xavier, but that was _awful._

"Next one: Lucas," Jemma said. "It comes from the Latin word for light." 

"Lucas Johnson-Campbell," Daisy said, trying it out on her tongue. It was better than the previous one, definitely, but it still didn't feel quite _right._

Seeing the indecision in her eyes, Jemma moved on. "Alright, next we have Evan," she said. "It means yew, and -" 

This time Lincoln was the one who shook his head. "It's a nice name, but it'll always make me think of the musical," he said. 

"What musical?" Daisy asked, her eyebrows flying up. 

"You know, Dear Evan Hansen," Lincoln said, and when she didn't catch on, he gave an incredulous laugh. "Come on, Dais, you love musicals! Dear Evan Hansen is _great._ It won everything at the Tonys two years ago when -" 

When she had been busy fighting her own mother for her very life. 

Lincoln trailed off as he made the connection, too, squeezing her hand in apology. 

She squeezed back, silently letting him know that it was okay - and that they had a date to watch this musical as soon as possible. 

From the small smile that flickered across his lips, she could tell he got it. 

"So that's a no for Evan," Jemma said, scrolling on once she was sure everything was okay. "The next one is… Oh." She snorted a laugh. "Well, _that's_ an immediate no." 

"What is it?" Daisy asked, curious. 

Jemma snickered. "Braxton." 

"That's _terrible,"_ Joey said, pulling a face that summed up the mood in the entire room at the moment. 

"And the next one's no better," Jemma said, wincing. "Remington!" 

"Aw, hell, no," Mack said with a sudden and violent shudder. "My maths teacher was called that back in fifth grade. Old Remington, we used to call him - he was a _dinosaur."_

"Definitely not Remington, then," Daisy said with a mild shudder of her own. 

"Was it ever an option?" Lincoln asked, pulling a face. 

"Most certainly not," Jemma said. "But this one could be - how do you like Skyler?" 

Lincoln started to nod, but Daisy was shaking her head before he could finish the motion. "Too close to Skye," she pointed out. 

Jemma tapped her knuckles thoughtfully against the tablet. "Good point." 

"I have an idea," Elena said suddenly, her dark eyes sparkling slyly. "Phil." 

Coulson turned to look at her, his expression touched, and she added with a perfectly straight face, "And then the girl can be Melinda, and maybe the two of you will finally figure your crap out." 

Daisy choked on a laugh, and Coulson's expression turned a desperate kind of neutral to hide the fact that he was almost certainly dying of embarrassment. "No-one likes a smart-ass," he told Elena wryly. 

Daisy blinked innocently up at him. "That's not true, I do!" 

"Thin ice, young lady," he warned, but there was nothing remotely threatening in his eyes. Actually, he looked a little amused. 

It was impossible to tell what May thought, but Daisy _guessed_ that she was hiding a smile, too. 

"No way," she breathed, looking from Coulson to May and back again. "Did you guys…" 

"We made a toast," was all May would say, but the sparkle in her eyes was enough to tell Daisy that, yes, they most definitely _had._

"Oh my God, you guys!" she squealed, and if it hadn't been so hard for her to get up, she would have rushed across the room and thrown her arms around them both. 

As it was, she settled for beaming at them, bright and genuine. "I'm so happy for you guys," she said sincerely. 

May offered her a tiny smile, her eyes warmer than Daisy had ever seen them before. "Thanks." 

One by one, the rest of the team members offered their congratulations, and Daisy felt the warm feeling in her chest expand with each gently teasing "well, it's about time," and "we're so happy for you." 

"Thanks, guys," Coulson said, smiling around the room. "But we didn't actually mean to tell you all now - sorry for stepping on your moment, Dais." 

His gaze was apologetic, but there was no reason for it to be. "No, no," Daisy assured him with a genuine smile. "This has made my day." 

"Aww," Coulson said, his expression softening into what Daisy liked to call his _"my daughter is the best"_ look. 

"And actually," she said, squeezing Lincoln's hand and turning to look at Elena again, "I really, really like the idea of honouring you two in the twins' names." 

She had to swallow hard past the sudden lump in her throat. "You're more parents to me than my real parents ever got to be." 

Lincoln's grip on her hand tightened, and he slid his other arm around her waist, warm and comforting. _Here for you,_ he was saying without any words.

Daisy leaned into his touch, blinking away the couple of tears that had welled up in her eyes. "It's true, though," she said. "Y-you guys are my parents. You made me who I am today." 

_"Daisy,"_ Coulson said, his voice full of emotion, and he only hesitated for a second before coming over to wrap his arms around her, incredibly careful with her baby bump. 

"I would be _honoured_ to be your son's namesake," he said, his voice thick with emotion. 

Daisy could only nod, burying her head into his shirt and holding on to him for dear life. 

When she opened her eyes, still hugging Coulson tightly, she saw that May was watching them both, her expression uncommonly vulnerable. 

"Me too," she said, giving Daisy a quick nod that carried almost more emotion than the whole hug. "I may not always show it, but I…" She swallowed. "I really care about you. I do. You're like the daughter I never had." 

Daisy could only nod, feeling a fresh flood of tears well up in her eyes. She ducked her head to wipe them off on Coulson's sweater. 

He held her for a second longer, then stepped back, patting her shoulder gently. He didn't say anything more, but his eyes, and May's, said everything that needed to be said. 

She felt Lincoln's hand warm at her back, anchoring her through the fierce flood of emotions that welled up inside her. 

"You okay?" he asked after a second of just holding her, his voice achingly tender and compassionate. 

She nodded, reaching for his hand, which she had dropped during Coulson's hug, and lacing their fingers securely again. 

"Thanks," she said softly, running her thumb lightly across the creases on his knuckles. 

He didn't reply with words, but the way he squeezed her hand said, _always._

Daisy squeezed back to let him know she got it, then turned around to face the rest of the room at large, bolstered by his hand in hers. 

"Alright," she said to her friends. "We have the twins's second names - now we just need the first names." 

"Second names?" Jemma repeated thoughtfully. 

Daisy nodded, settling herself comfortably against Lincoln's side. "Yeah, we talked about that when we told Lincoln's family," she explained. "It's kind of a tradition of theirs to give each baby an entirely new name - first of all because it might get confusing to have a Luke Junior and a Luke Senior, or whatever, and second of all because a baby is a fresh new person, right? They should be allowed a fresh, new name to start their own story."

"And with a second name," Lincoln said, picking up for her when she had to pause for breath, "you can still honour the people who made you who _you_ are, but you can also give the baby that clean chapter to start their lives." 

"That's lovely," Jemma said, her gaze softening with affection. 

"Isn't it just?" Daisy agreed, tipping her head to give Lincoln a soft look. 

"There's just one small problem," Hunter said from across the room, clearing his throat. "We still don't have any first names." 

"Yeah, but we'll find something," Jemma said confidently. "How long can it take?" 

As it turned out, the answer was very, _very_ long. There were, as they were quickly finding out, just _so many_ names out there. 

But it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack - two needles, actually. Two needles (names) that had to not only fit with the surname Johnson-Campbell, but also with the second names Phil and Melinda, and _also_ had to feel right to both Daisy and Lincoln. 

Because the last thing Daisy wanted was to call either of her children something that wasn't _right_ \- she remembered the horrible feeling of being saddled with a name she hated all too well. 

_Mary Sue Poots._ It had fitted her about as well as an American accent fitted Hunter - which was to say, the _worst_ thing in the world, no matter how proud of it Hunter was. 

A name was something these children would carry with them for the rest of their _lives,_ and like it or not, it would define them. 

Daisy remembered how the name Mary Sue had always sat wrong, and how she had always tried desperately to change herself to fit it. And that struggle had defined who she was in those years: a lost soul trying desperately to fit in where she never really would, trying to wear a name that wasn't _hers,_ to be a person who wasn't _her._

Changing her name to _Skye,_ to something that _she_ chose, something that _suited_ her, had felt like the load of a world being lifted off her shoulders. She didn't have to carry around an ill-fitting name as living proof of how there was something _wrong_ with her anymore - she could be who she chose, who _she_ defined herself as. 

And as the years had passed, she had made the choice to change her name again, knowing that this time she would stay with it - to honour the love her parents had had when they chose it for her, and to show that her lifelong search was over; she could be who she was meant to be now, on her terms. 

That was her story, her search. But no part of her would _ever_ want that for either of her children - they were her _everything,_ and they deserved to know that, right from the start. They _never_ needed to feel like their very names were forcing them to be people they weren't, like there was something wrong with them because they couldn't fit in. 

They deserved to feel _loved_ from their very first breaths; like their names had been chosen specifically for _them_ , not just checked off a list on some social worker's wall. 

They deserved to know exactly how special they were every time someone said their names. 

"... which doesn't even matter because Daisy isn't even listening to me anymore. DAISY!" Fitz said, so loudly that she jumped half off the couch, quite regardless of her significant baby bump. 

"Sorry," she said, when she was safely back on the couch, Lincoln's fingers laced through hers again. "We've just been busy for a really, _really_ long time." 

Everyone, literally everyone, nodded emphatically. _"We know."_

Taking a look around the room, it quickly became evident just _how_ long they had been busy - Elena had rearranged the entire lounge with people still on the furniture, and finally settled for dozing intermittently on Mack's shoulder; Bobbi's head was in Hunter's lap, and she was letting him _braid her hair;_ Joey had melted an entire chair down into metal dice and was playing a game of chance against himself; Fitz had managed do balance three SHIELD tablets on his head while Jemma hung onto the fourth for dear life; Lincoln was absent-mindedly shorting out the lights every so often; and Coulson and May were doing _paperwork._

"Okay," she said, telling her brain to _snap into focus, please._ She could take down squadrons of armed men, she could find the perfect names for her children. 

Pep talk achieved, she clapped her hands, managing to get the attention of most of the people in the room - Elena woke up, Mack stopped yawning, Hunter froze with his hands in Bobbi's hair (Bobbi sat up) Joey melted his dice back into a chair, Fitz guiltily handed Jemma back her tablets, Lincoln stopped making the lights flicker, and Coulson and May dropped their pens. 

"Right, agents," she said, putting on her most businesslike voice. "Let's finish this mission. What were you saying, Fitz?" 

"Well, Fitz suggested a traditional Scottish or Gaelic name -" Jemma began. 

" - because none of you wankers can come up with anything better," Fitz interrupted, glaring good-naturedly around the room. 

Before it could dissolve into another playful argument, Daisy clapped her hands again. "Fitz! Examples." 

"Okay, um," Fitz said, thinking about it for a second. "Saoirse." 

"I like the sound of that," Daisy said, tilting her head consideringly. "What does it mean?" 

"Uh…" Fitz said, clearly floored. "I think -" 

But Jemma cut him off before he could get too far. "It _sounds_ nice," she agreed, "but the _spelling_ is absolutely horrendous." 

"Oh? How do you spell it?" Daisy asked cautiously, the look on Jemma's face making her think that maybe she didn't want to know. 

Jemma's next words confirmed her suspicions. "S-A-O-I-R-S-E," she spelled out, raising her eyebrows as though to say, _told you so._

Lincoln held up one hand, his forehead wrinkling into an expression of utter confusion. "And you pronounce it _seer-sha?"_

"Yup," Jemma said cheerfully, popping the _p._

"Sorry, Fitz, that one's out," Daisy said. "We need something that at least _looks_ like English." 

"That rules out anything Gaelic, then," Hunter said with a good-natured roll of his eyes. 

"Do _you_ have any better ideas, Mr Liverpool?" Fitz asked, the tone of his voice making it clear that anyone who supported _Liverpool_ was most definitely not going to have any good ideas. 

"Actually, I do," Hunter said with a dramatic bow. "Why has no-one asked me yet?" 

And before anyone could stop him, he started to rattle off a list of names so fast that he made _Jemma's_ preparation look bad. 

"Catherine Elizabeth Margaret Adele Isla Jasmine Penny Polly Amelia Emily Maya Esmeralda Annabelle Grace Sarah-Jane Amanda -”

“That,” Bobbi said, pinching the bridge of her nose, “is why nobody asked you.”

Hunter pretended to look hurt. “I thought there were a few really good ones in there!”

“Esmeralda?” Fitz interrupted. “Really?”

“Yeah, I don’t know what you were thinking,” Mack agreed with a well-practiced shake of his head.

“Esmeralda’s not so bad,” Hunter protested. “It’s quite a nice name, really!”

“It sounds like a snotty little princess on her way to ballet school,” Bobbi said, wrinkling her nose.

“First of all, Bob, don’t discriminate against ballet schools, they’re lovely places,” Hunter said, wagging a finger mock-sternly. “And second of all, Esmeralda is a great name.”

“Well, I suppose it could be a lot worse,” Fitz said, grimacing at the thought. “Like _Drizella.”_

“Oh my God, where did you get _that_ from?” Hunter asked, dramatically horrified.

Fitz pulled a face. “Cinderella, of all things. But I mean, if it’s Drizella or Esmeralda, we all know which one’s going to win -”

“Enough,” Daisy interrupted, putting her hands on her hips, regardless of her baby bump, and glaring formidably all around her. “I am not calling my daughter Esmeralda, and that’s _that.”_

Drawing in a quick, calming breath, she said in her most reasonable tone of voice, “Does anyone have an actual idea, or are we going to do all of this again tomorrow?”

The chorus of _nooooo_ ’s was so drawn-out and dramatic that she had to grin. "Right then," she said, "let's get our shit together and damn well _do_ it." 

Joey, who up until this point had been mostly silent with occasional smiles and head-shakes, raised his hand and said cautiously, “I might have an idea, actually.”

Everyone turned to look at him, and Daisy gave him her most encouraging smile. He was the newest member of this family, it was true, but he was still _such_ a part of it. “Yeah?” she asked with a small nod.

“Well, _Daisy_ is a flower name,” Joey began, his cheeks flushing a little at all the attention. “So, um, since we haven’t been able to settle on anything else… don’t you think it could be sweet to name your kids something flower-related, too? That way they still have the element of freshness and newness that you want, but it’s also a callback to, you know, you.”

He was looking firmly at the floor by the time he had finished, clearly just _waiting_ for someone to tell him it was a stupid idea --

“I think that’s a brilliant,” Lincoln said, shooting Joey a sincere smile. 

Joey looked up, still a little shy, but smiling properly now, too. “Really?”

"Really," Lincoln agreed. "Daisy would say I'm being sappy, but the truth is, she's _incredible_ , and she deserves all the credit."

“You _are_ bring sappy,” Daisy informed Lincoln, but she was beaming, too, her heart so full of warmth and love that she thought it might expand right out of her chest. To Joey, she said, smile radiant, “It really is a beautiful thought.”

“Well done, rookie,” May said, nodding approvingly, and Joey’s whole demeanor flushed with pleasure - because, really, a compliment from May was the _ultimate_ compliment.

He deserved it, though. Flower-inspired names were a stroke of genius - and not just because it was a tribute to her, Daisy. That was nice (and sappy, she loved it), but it went deeper than that for her, too. Though she would never admit it, she had always secretly _loved_ the whole floral names shebang. It just felt so… organic.

She snickered. Oh, Lincoln and Jemma would _love_ that pun.

Really, though - to her, flower names meant a connection to something solid, something that would stay forever, because that’s what flowers’ roots did. To be a flower, you had to have roots.

And if there was one thing she _really_ wanted for her children, it was roots. Proper, strong roots, the kind of roots that would let them grow up to be the most incredible people one day.

“Here, I’ve got a list,” Jemma said, breaking into Daisy’s thoughts at pretty much the perfect time. “Shall I read them out loud?”

“Yes, please,” Daisy said, reaching for Lincoln’s hand. She had started this day and this crazy naming session excited and full of anticipation, but something about this moment felt different - like they were finally going to find what they had been looking for.

She didn’t know how she knew, but she just did. Call it a mother’s instinct.

One of her twins kicked gently against her stomach as though agreeing with her, and Daisy smiled as she rested her hand on the spot. This was it.

Everyone else seemed to sense it, too, because all the jokery and teasing stopped, everyone’s attention turning laser-focused to Jemma.

“Let’s start with the boy, because there are fewer flower- or nature-inspired names for boys,” she said. Clearing her throat, she started to read: “Ash, Aspen, Alder, Birch, Conall, Drake, Heath, Jasper, Oliver, and William.”

“William?” Hunter echoed, raising his eyebrows sceptically. “How is _William_ a flower-inspired name?”

“Sweet William,” Bobbi explained, tapping a little rhythm on his knee. “It’s a flower.”

Hunter looked stumped for a moment, then started to grin. “So His Royal Heirness is named after a flower?”

 _“Hunter,”_ Bobbi groaned, punching him in the shoulder.

“What?” he asked innocently. “He _is!”_

But Daisy was only half-listening to their familiar banter as she turned the name over in her head. 

_William._

It was a good name. A strong name. 

And unlike any of the others she had heard before, it felt _right._

Why, she couldn't explain - after all, what made it so different from, say, Lucas?

She couldn't say. But she did know that it _was_ different, in the best way possible.

There was a tiny kick right at the top of her stomach as she thought that, and Daisy couldn’t help but think that it meant her son agreed. 

“Do you like the sound of that?” she whispered, sending a tiny, almost painfully gentle vibration rippling through her body. “William?”

Everyone was watching her, she realised, and the room had gone completely silent as everyone waited, breathless, for a silent signal.

After an electric second, her baby gave a firm kick, and Daisy gasped out loud, feeling the prick of tears in her eyes.

“William,” she said, turning to Lincoln and feeling tears of pure pride and happiness spill over her eyes. “His name is William.”

“William Phillip Johnson-Campbell,” Lincoln said, and she had never seen anything like this look on his face - this pure and all-consuming _pride,_ and _love,_ so much love that it made her heart hurt just to think of.

She _got_ it, though. She got it more than she had ever gotten anything before in her life.

“Hello, William Johnson-Campbell,” Jemma said, and was Daisy imagining it, or was there a suspiciously moist glint in her friend’s eyes as well? 

After a moment where nobody had entirely dry eyes, Jemma cleared her throat, returning her attention to her tablet as best she could. “We still have to do the girl,” she reminded everyone.

Daisy nodded, but she didn’t think _anything_ could deflate this feeling inside of her - this pure and unconditional _love,_ so deep that she couldn’t even begin to find the bounds of it.

_William._

“Alright, for girls, we have the obvious ones like Rose, Lily, Violet and Jasmine,” Jemma began, “but then we also have less common ones, like Azalea, Leilani, Marguerite, Iris, Alyssa, and Fleur -”

“Sorry, one second,” Lincoln said, holding up his hand. “What was that middle one?”

Jemma blinked, swiping slowly back up through her list. “Marguerite…?”

“No, the one after that,” Lincoln said, his gaze fixed intently on her.

Something in Jemma’s expression shifted, clicked. “Iris,” she said.

 _Ow._ Her daughter - because it _had_ to be her daughter; she was the only one who kicked like that - landed a hit right beneath Daisy’s ribcage, and kicked her three more times for good measure.

“Whoa,” Daisy said, giving a breathless kind of laugh. “Okay!”

“Do we have a winner?” Bobbi asked, leaning forward with a proud older sister's smile.

Daisy chuckled as her daughter kicked her one last time. “It seems we do… Iris.”

She had thought that the swell of emotion might be a little less intense this time, but, no, if anything, it was even _more_ vivid this time.

“Iris Melinda,” she whispered, sending a tiny vibration tickling through to her daughter, and feeling tears spring to her eyes when her daughter kicked lightly in response. 

Lincoln turned to her, and the look in his eyes couldn’t be described with words - it was more love than she had ever imagined possible to see in one person, and so _raw_ and intense, so _powerful_. 

“Hello, twins,” he murmured, bending right down to the level of her stomach. “Hello, Iris. Hello, William.”

Daisy couldn’t help it - she was crying, tears pouring freely down her cheeks. It was ridiculous, yes, but God if she had never felt happier in that moment than she ever had before. 

These twins, her twins, her Iris and William - they were her everything, as simple as that. Her moon and stars. Her end and her beginning. Her _life._

One by one, her family gathered around, each of them bending down right to her level and greeting her children personally.

As their voices floated around her, whispers of “hi” and “welcome” and “we can’t wait to meet you” wrapping her and her children in a net of safety and love and _family_ , Daisy reflected that yes, this had never been the plan: but she wouldn’t change one second of this for the world.

_**The End.** _


End file.
